I decided against the full skids for two reason and simply augmented the oil pan with a Rancho cover and the trans pan with a Rock Krawler deep sump replacement heavy duty skid pan. I will say that the Rock Krawler piece is a great idea, just poorly manufactured. Reason 1- I saved a ton of sprung weight and lessened heat retention going the pan reinforcement route. Reason 2- any repairs between the underbody and the skids (especially on the trail when the jeep is hot) can seriously be a hassle trying to remove full skids that have chewed up bolt heads.
thos are 2 very well stated reasons and couldn't agree more. i thought it was especially telling how both you and mel were able to take on the big, near vertical waterfall on axle alley without loosing your transmission while dave (no RK deep sump pan) was not able to.